Rejection and Redemption
by dracademented
Summary: Remus makes a mistake, Sirius finds the Black half of himself, Lily and James try desperately to fix things, Peter's Peter, and you get some Malfoy-goodness, too! Because, really, what's a story without one of the blond Slytherin Sex Gods?


Disclaimer: I own nothing!

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Sirius could do this. He knew he could. Or so he told himself. Where was his confidence now? His Gryffindor courage? Where was the Sirius Black who could charm every girl (and half the boys) in school without even thinking about it? And why, _why _did he have to pick the one person in the blasted school that was actually completely straight? WHY? Probably because otherwise, it would have been too easy, and gods know the fates had it out for him. Why else would they make him fall for _him? _His best mate besides Jamie? Oh yes, the powers that be had a very sick sense of humor. And now they were in their seventh year, and Sirius was tired of fucking around. He had to _tell_ him, had to get it over with. And Lily had been pestering him about it for weeks. '_Tell him, Sirius', 'He has a right to know, Sirius', 'Come on, Siri! We know he likes you, too!_' That's all he'd heard from her for two straight weeks now.

Shit, all his Housemates in their year knew. Except Remus himself, of course. They found it hilarious that he, Sirius Black, the most desired wizard in Hogwarts, was pining away for the secretive werewolf. Hah. It wasn't very funny to _him_. He'd liked Remus forever, and had always known he had no chance. But he couldn't just sit around and do _nothing_; it was almost like going against his very nature. He always had to be doing something, and this was no different, there was just more at stake. So he'd tell Remus as soon as he got back from his Potions detention, and get it over with. He'd be back any minute, and Sirius had given him a note earlier saying to meet him in one of the secret rooms, which was where he was waiting now. But the minutes flew by, and still no Remus. Finally, almost half an hour later, the door creaked open.

"Siri?" Remus's tan head peaked around the doorframe.

"Yeah." Sirius called back softly. Remus walked in, and Sirius saw that his hair was almost soaking wet, and he was wearing different robes than he'd had on earlier.

"Sorry I'm late." Remus said. "I got drenched with one of the potions during detention. And from the smell, trust me, you would have wanted me to shower."

"You're not gonna sprout boils or anything, right?" Sirius asked with a smirk, and Remus glared at him before laughing.

"No. The Professor just warned me that because of my... condition, I might be a little more feral tonight. Now that I think about it, I do feel on edge." Remus said, and Sirius could see that his pupils were dilated and the irises had a distinct amber glow.

"Alright Moony, just tell me if you think you're gonna go furry so I have time to change before you eat me." Sirius joked, but Remus's eyes looked hungry at that statement. Not blood hungry, he'd seen that before, but just...hungry.

"Eat you?" Remus asked, moving slightly closer. There had been the undertone of a growl in his voice, and Sirius couldn't help the bolt of desire that shot through him at the predatory look in his friend's eyes.

"There was a reason I asked you here." Sirius said, trying desperately to think of something besides his swelling cock.

"And what was it?" Remus asked, taking a step forward. Yes, you could tell the wolf was riding high tonight by his bluntness. Remus usually wasn't nearly as direct.

"I wanted to tell you something." Sirius said unevenly, suddenly finding it hard to breathe. Remus moved closer, and his nostrils flared slightly. The hunger grew in his eyes, and Sirius knew he'd smelt his desire. _Screw it, the cat's half out of the bag_, he thought to himself.

"I'm in love with you." OH GODS, he'd really said it. Four years of trying, and the words had finally escaped his lips. Remus's eyes widened, and they were almost completely amber now. Something primal looked out at Sirius from them, and his cock throbbed.

"Love you too," Remus growled, and then he was on him.

Remus's hands were everywhere, tossing his robes and ripping his clothes, but Sirius couldn't have cared less. Remus's words were ringing in his ears like the sweetest symphony, and he'd give the werewolf anything he wanted for them. He'd dreamed of this for four years, and now the desperate, hungry, demanding hands and tongue and teeth were a reality, and Sirius wouldn't have traded it for anything in the world. He willingly gave his love what he'd never given any of his other lovers that night, and let him take him on the desktop, all wild, savage need and completion. Afterwards they slid to the floor bonelessly, and fell asleep wrapped around one another.

It was bliss.

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Remus's head hurt. Everything hurt for that matter. And his bed was unreasonably hard. And cold. And not a bed at all. He opened his eyes slowly, trying to ignore the pounding in his skull. Where was he? How did he get here? He remembered going to detention, getting doused in that damn potion, and being late to meet Sirius so he could shower. Then...Oh gods, no. No, he didn't, he couldn't have. But hot, erotic images of pounding inside a moaning Sirius were vividly real in his mind. And so was the warm body of his best friend curled up next to him. NO. He couldn't have, he wouldn't have...Not with Sirius, not with any MALE. Oh gods, this was all that potion's fault. Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck. What was he going to do? It was a mistake, just a stupid mistake. He had to get out of here before Sirius woke up and...too late.

"Moony?" Sirius asked sleepily. Oh shit, oh fuckfuckfuck...

"Look, Sirius, I'm sorry, I..."

"What's to be sorry for?" Sirius asked and stretched. Remus stared at him in horror.

"What's..._What's to be sorry for?_ I...You...We..."

"Yeah? I thought we covered this last night?" Sirius asked, pulling his mostly-intact robes on over his muscled chest while Remus blanched at the tiny shreds of clothing strewn over the stone floor. "I told you I loved you and I meant it." Remus couldn't even speak. He was pretty sure he was about to be ill. What had he done??

"What? Y-You can't!" He finally choked out. Sirius looked up at him, confused.

"What do you mean? Of course I can. I have for four years."

"No!" Remus practically shouted, and Sirius flinched.

"I told you I did, and you said that you did too..." Sirius started haltingly, and Remus almost fainted.

"No, I wouldn't have! I don't love you, Sirius, I could never love you like_ that_, and you don't love me! We're _guys_! It was just a horrible, horrible mistake..." He trailed off, and looked up, expecting Sirius to agree with him. But instead, Sirius looked like someone had just planted a blade in his back. A tear ran down his face, then another, and another.

"You...You fucking said..." Sirius jumped to his feet, his voice breaking, and Remus looked on in shock. "You said you did too, you fucking bastard! Four years, _four fucking years_, Remus, I've worked up the courage to tell you! Everyone else bloody knows, but never you! And I finally hand my heart to you on a silver fucking platter, tell you that I _love_ you, for Merlin's sake, and you say you do too, then shag me silly, which, I might add, had been the first time like that for me, and now, NOW you decide it was a mistake?!? FUCK YOU, REMUS LUPIN!" Sirius screamed, and then all emotion seemed to leak out of him.

Remus watched the light, that wonderful, adored, Sirius-light, fade away and die in his dark blue eyes as he looked at him. The tears were drying on his friend's cheeks, and he looked like a stranger suddenly. Oh, the beautiful, angelic face was the same, the waist-length ebony hair was the same, the tall, lithe, Quidditch-formed body was the same, but his eyes...Those familiar, beloved eyes looked at him blankly, deadly, a tiny hint of betrayal showing deep in their depths, and Remus's chest felt tight for some reason. He looked down, wondering how to make things right, but when he glanced back up, Sirius was gone.

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Sirius couldn't think, couldn't feel. Because if he did, it would consume him. All his dreams: shattered. His trust: shattered. His soul: shattered. He was broken, and nothing in the world could ever, ever fix him. He had died in that room, in every way but the physical. He had felt so hurt, so confused, so betrayed...Then nothing. It was as if his brain had a safety switch that had suddenly clicked on when it realized his mind was about to snap. He vaguely thought about killing himself, but he was so detached at the moment that the idea couldn't really take hold, and Sirius wasn't one for that anyway. He knew his numb exterior would crack one day, but he resolved it wouldn't for as long as he could help it. Because he could feel what was waiting for him if it did. Cold, screaming, agonizing, disbelieving blackness that would devour him piece by piece and spit out the remains.

"Sirius?" A voice called, and he glanced around in mild surprise when he saw he'd somehow gotten inside the common room. He looked over to see Lily, James and Peter, the only students occupying the room besides him.

"Did you do it?" Lily asked anxiously.

"Yeah." Sirius deadpanned. They looked closer at him, and their eyes widened.

"Siri, what's wrong?" James asked, his voice thick with worry. Sirius said nothing, felt nothing, just..._nothing_.

"But you were both gone all night." Lily protested.

"Yeah."

"So what'd he say when you told him?" She asked, fear showing on her face when she looked in his eyes. Because she saw what he felt. Nothing. All was empty and dead.

"He said he did too."

"Well, what's wrong with that?" James asked, and the same look Lily had slowly spread across his and Peter's faces.

"It was perfect, wonderful, a dream come true." Still nothing. Just blackness and betrayal.

"Then what happened?" Lily asked.

"I gave him my virginity. Well, that one, anyway."

"Oooh, how wonderful!" Lily said, trying to be cheerful, though she knew something had gone horribly wrong. "Then what?"

"We fell asleep. Woke up. He was weird, started apologizing. I told him not to, and he asked why. I told him I loved him again, and he freaked. I asked him what was up, that he'd said he felt the same, and he told me he could never love me. That it was all a horrible fucking mistake. But he _had_ said he loved me, told me over and over when we were fucking, and now it's 'thanks-but-no-thanks-been-there-done-that'. Why would he say that? If he'd wanted to just fuck, nothing more, I would have. It would have killed me, but I would have gone in knowing that. Why'd he have to say it? Why the fuck did he have to..."

He said it all in a bored, monotone voice, and it terrified his friends. Sirius was one of those people who put emotions into _everything._ Not necessarily good or bad ones, but _something_. But now it was like a shell of Sirius sitting before them, but in the back of his hauntingly blank eyes was the real him. And that Sirius, _their_ Sirius, was screaming, cursing, crying, dying. And suddenly, he began laughing. Choking, hysterical laughter that cut through their souls. It was desperate yet hollow, and held a hint of madness. And then he was a blur of movement, bolting from his chair, and was up the stairs before they could stop him. They looked at each other, speechless for a long time.

"Why would Remi _do_ that?" Lily asked quietly, breaking the silence.

"I...I don't know." James said. "_How_ could he is a better question."

"That bastard!" Peter said suddenly, his face angry. He'd idolized Sirius since before they'd even come to school, and the boy they'd just spoken to wasn't Sirius. That was a burned out husk. "That absolute bastard!" James nodded dumbly, while the wheels turned in Lily's head.

"We've gotta go find Remus. My money says he's still in that room." She pulled them up, and they left the common room. Sure enough, they found the werewolf sitting on the ground, surrounded by torn pieces of cloth. He had a glazed expression in his eyes, and looked as if he'd received a severe shock.

"Remus Lupin." Lily said harshly, and his head popped up. She knew the only way she'd get any real answers out of the werewolf was to be blunt and cruel. She could apologize later, depending on what he said. "What the bloody hell have you done?" She demanded.

"I-I don't know. How...I wouldn't...But I did...Oh gods."

"What is up with you?" She asked angrily. "How could you use Sirius like that?" Remus jumped up.

"I didn't!"

"Well, what do you call telling him you love him, taking his virginity, and then crushing his heart into fine dust?" She asked, and there was real anger that time. Sirius was like her older brother, always protecting her, making her laugh. And now he was dying inside, and she could do nothing. Nothing but this.

"I didn't mean to! It was that potion and..."

"What potion?" Lily, James and Peter asked in unison.

"I got covered in Primagato solution. It must have made me do what I did. It had to have. Yes, that's it..."

"You idiot!" Lily screeched. "It didn't _make_ you do anything! If that potion comes into contact with lycanthrope skin, it urges them to find their mate and confess their love! You absolute bloody _pillock!_"

"W...What?!? But he's a guy!" Remus said, looking at her in shock and denial.

"Straight, perfect Remus finds his true love, his mate, who I might add is the most sought-after person in school, and he lets his sexual prejudices blind him! This is too much!" Lily exclaimed hotly. "Sirius, who gods only know how many people would give up a limb for even an ounce of his love, is totally in love with _you_, has been _forever_, and you treat him like some common slut! So goddamn _what_ if he's a guy?!? I was with Carrie before James! James was with Lycus before me! Peter fancied that Ravenclaw beater, Josh is still with Andrew, Amy and Andrea have been screwing like bunnies for years, and you're worried because Siri's a guy?!? Even the _Slytherins_ are more open-minded than you are! How long have Lucius and Snape been fucking? Ages! Practically in the corridors along with the rest of the student body!_ No one cares_, Remus! And we've seen you looking at him! So what is the _problem_??" Remus sank slowly to the floor, looking dazed, as if someone had just hit him over the head with a hammer.

"Remus?" James asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Oh gods...I _do_ love Sirius...Oh gods..."

"Well, it's about time." Lily huffed. "But now you gotta tell _him_ that."

"What? No! I can't! He hates me!" Remus exclaimed, looking miserable. "How could I have been so cruel? I...I didn't _know_, I mean, I woke up and everything was fuzzy and my head hurt, and then there's my naked best friend and a bunch of mixed up memories, and..."

"Tell_ him_ that, Remus." Lily said, looking exasperated.

"I don't think it'll do any good, now." Peter said, finally speaking up. "I think it's too late. You two saw it as well as I did. That wasn't our friend. Sirius has locked himself up in his own mind, and he feels nothing. NOTHING. It was like talking to a zombie who was wearing our best friend's face." Lily and James looked down, knowing it was the truth, and Remus started shaking.

"Oh fuck. Nonono, fuck, _what have I done?_" Remus asked, feeling his heart break.

Everything clicked into place in his head suddenly. He did love Sirius, loved him more than anything, he always had. That's why he was so terrified this morning, he'd been sure he'd lost him because of some stupid mistake. He'd panicked, ignoring that voice in his head screaming _'Idiot! Fool!'_, and he'd said anything he could to try to reclaim the friendship that meant more than his own life to him, and not realizing he was throwing away what he really wanted, what he _needed, _and that he wouldn't have lost anything at all. He was so stupid, so stupid, so stupid...

And it was all his fault. He knew what Peter meant, because he'd watched it happen. He'd _made_ it happen. He balled his hands into fists, backing away from the worried looks James and Lily were giving him, not knowing his eyes had started to glow from panic, and his back hit the stone wall hard. _Sirius, oh gods, Sirius, what did I do? _There was sudden, sharp pain in both his hands, and he glanced down briefly, seeing that claws had sprung from his fingers and impaled his palms. The tips came out of the tops of his fists, bloody and razor sharp, and he couldn't even feel them. Lily saw them and gave a strangled scream.

"Oh fuck, Remus! It's not the full moon, you can't change! What's going on? Come here, let me see..."

"No!" Remus screamed. "Stay away from me! How can you stand to even be near me!? What have I done, whathaveIdone, whathaveIdone..." Remus opened his fists, the claws pulling out with a ripping sound, and slammed them through again. Peter looked sick, James looked like the world was ending, and Lily looked like her heart was breaking as well. Oh well, no more than his was. He prepared to bolt, but Lily jumped on him, putting a vice grip on his arm.

"Oh no you don't, I know that look, Remus Lupin. You're coming with us to see Sirius, so we can fix this mess. Unclench your fists. NOW!!!" She yelled when he didn't do it. She tugged on them, and he froze for a second, letting her see that she had no hope without his cooperation, then pulled them out slowly.

"Let's go." James said, and they left the room.

But Sirius wasn't in Gryffindor tower. They checked everywhere, but he'd disappeared. James went to get their map, but came back and said it was gone. They waited all night in the common room, but he never came back. He wasn't at breakfast the next morning, and it was Saturday, so they couldn't depend on seeing him in class. They searched the grounds for him, but it always seemed like they'd just missed him. He could avoid them for a long time with that map. Finally, right at sundown, they saw him with a group of Ravenclaws at the lake. They got up to him, Remus ghosting behind them in the tree line, staying out of sight. Sirius's eyes were still empty, but he had some pretty little blond giggling in his lap, and he was laughing. It was a fake laugh, but they were the only ones who seemed to realize it. Everyone's attention was glued to him, just like it always was.

"Siri?" James asked, and Sirius turned to face them. It was almost like Remus had said earlier, like they were looking at a stranger.

"What's up, Jamie?" Sirius asked, his impossibly blue eyes vacant, and an impassive look on his beautiful, aristocratic face.

"Could we talk to you for a minute?" James asked, hoping he didn't sound too urgent.

"Talk." Sirius said as the blond started sucking and nibbling on his neck.

"Alone?" James stressed. Sirius glanced up, and there was something in his lifeless eyes, something that flickered for a brief second. Hate. It shocked them to the core, scared them silly, and had them taking an unconscious step back before they knew that they were doing it. It was quickly covered by lust, though, as the girl ground herself into him and moaned.

"Not right now, Jamie. I'm kinda busy. Narcissa's gonna show me how Sirius rises every night." They barely caught the double meaning about his namesake star, because that name had stopped them dead. They stared in disbelief, and took a closer look at the blond. _Holy shit_. It _was_ Narcissa Black. Oh fuck. Sirius and she were cousins, but by marriage only, unlike him and Bellatrix, who was her half sister, and looked like she and Sirius could be twins. But Narcissa was a _Slytherin_. Sirius never fucked Slytherins.

"Sirius, please." Lily begged, desperate now. Things were worse than they'd thought. Much worse. No wonder they were with the Ravenclaws. That House was the only one that associated with the Slytherins. Until now, apparently. Sirius glanced at her briefly as his hand wrapped itself in Narcissa's golden hair.

"Go away. Fuck, I can smell him in the trees. Just go away, and take him with you. There's nothing he has to say that I want to hear, and I think I've followed quite enough of _your_ advice. Now go. I'm not going to say it again." Sirius spat, and captured Narcissa's mouth with his. She moaned, and so did the Ravenclaws, who were looking at him dreamily, and rubbing against one another. His friends backed away on shaky legs, before turning and running for the castle. They didn't stop until they got to the common room, and saw Remus had made it before them.

"Oh gods." Lily whispered, falling brokenly into a chair. "We shouldn't have pushed him, I should have talked to you first, Remus, we shouldn't have kept on him about it._ I _shouldn't have...What are we gonna do?" She asked, tears spilling down her cheeks.

"Narcissa...Slytherin...Narcissa...." James was muttering, looking as if he thought, _prayed_, it was all a dream.

"No, this is my fault." Remus said dejectedly.

"Yes. It is." Peter hissed, before turning and running up the stairs.

"Don't listen to him, Remi, it'll be fine...You'll see...It'll be fine..." Lily whispered, rocking back and forth as she sobbed quietly, wanting her friend back.

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But it wasn't fine. Sirius wasn't talking to any of them. Hell, he barely _saw_ any of them. He was always sitting with some Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff in classes, or even a couple of _Slytherins, _but never them. All of Gryffindor was in an uproar, demanding to know what had happened to their star. The rest of the school was absolutely giddy, however. By the end of the week, half of the single girls, a_ lot_ of not-so-single girls, and quite a few of the boys were walking around with dazed, sated, dreamy looks, and saying Sirius was on a roll. They were lining up for it, completely aware it was nothing more than a fuck. An awesome, mind-blowing, ecstatic fuck, from what they all said.

Then, to top the cake, the most unbelievable thing imaginable happened, and the Gryffindors could do nothing but watch in helpless horror. In the corridor by the Great Hall, during the busiest part of the day, everything got unnaturally still. They had pushed their way to the front, to see what in the world could possibly have every jaw in the hall dropping and an unearthly silence enveloping everything. They almost died from heart attacks when they saw what it was. Sirius Black, 'The God of Fucking' as he had been dubbed, was snogging the hell out of Narcissa Black, who's shaky, quivering legs would have given out, except that LUCIUS MALFOY was supporting her from behind, his and Sirius's hands roaming over her and each other.

No one could so much as move. This was so obviously not happening, because it was simply _impossible_. But at the same time, it was very fucking real. Had his friends been impartial judges, they still would have gawked from the sheer beauty of the three people crushed against each other in front of them. Many of the students, well, okay, _most_ of the students, saw exactly that. The three hottest people to grace the halls of Hogwarts were moaning and writhing together before their very eyes. There were going to be a lot of people taking cold showers very, very soon.

Sirius' friends, however, were _not_ impartial viewers. They saw their best friend completely sinking away from them in the arms of the enemy. Remus Lupin saw his soul dying. The Heads of Gryffindor and Slytherin had pushed through the silent crowd of brain-fucked students, only to freeze and have their mouths drop open in shock. They couldn't believe it either. Later, the students couldn't decide who had been more shocked. Vargus, because a Gryffindor, Sirius-Black-the-Slytherin-Hater at that, was getting freaky with his favorite Slytherins, or Haliber, because the star of his House was getting freaky with Slytherins. The teachers finally snapped out of it, and charged over to the three of them.

"Lucius Malfoy! Narcissa Black!" Vargus said at the same time Haliber bellowed, "Sirius Black!"

The three of them detangled themselves slowly, licking their lips, eyes shining with twisted lust and dark heat. The teachers went to drag them away, and Sirius and Lucius kissed viciously and passionately before they were ripped apart. Gasps flew from every throat, and now everyone was _so_ beyond stunned. It was one thing to see the two of them dry-fucking Narcissa. Granted, it was shocking, and waaay more than a little hot, but them kissing _each other_ floored everyone. (Although, it was still hot to the impartial judges, mind, and even hotter in a way.) They had been enemies since school started and Sirius had become the first Black to be put in Gryffindor.

They hated each other fiercely, intensely, almost tangibly. They wanted to kill each other on a daily basis, and now they were snogging each other senseless. '_WHAT THE FUCK?_', was the general leading thought in everyone's minds, right along with '_Do it again! Do it again!_', in everyone's but the Gryffindors', who looked green and slightly ill. The Hufflepuffs were blushing and panting, the Ravenclaws watched with horny, glazed eyes, and the Slytherins were a mix. A few looked as stumped as the Gryffindors, but most had the same hungry, dark look in their eyes that Sirius and Lucius had, with smugness and pride starting to shine through, mixing in with the lust.

Four people, however, just looked lost and heartbroken.

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A week later, Sirius was making his way back to Gryffindor tower, his body tingling and his senses on fire. Lucius and Narcissa made him _feel_, and he liked it. It was dark and fierce, and he knew what he'd been missing now. Narcissa said that she'd known it was in him, that he was a Black, and that it had just needed to be woken up. It was awake now, and it was _glorious_. He was free, unrestrained, and they'd shown him there was absolutely _nothing_ like sex spiked with Dark magic. It flowed through his entire body, filling him with consuming ecstasy, and had had them panting, grinding, writhing, coming for hours...He knew how powerful he was now, knew what he'd kept locked inside himself, and he reveled in it. He slipped out of his thoughts as he slid through the portrait hole with grace a panther would kill for.

"Sirius." The voice didn't even startle him. He just turned, seeing Jamie, Lily, Peter, and _him_.

"Yes?" Sirius asked coldly, feeling his hair move around him like a cloak, long ebony locks that he found were beautiful when twined with silver ones.

"Sirius, what's up with you? Please talk to us!" Lily begged, her eyes pleading with him. "You're not acting like yourself and..." He cut her off, laughing maliciously.

"You're wrong, sweet Lilith, I'm more myself than I've ever been."

"No, you're not! I know what happened hurt you, but you don't understand!" She said, her voice willing him to listen.

"Oh, I _understand_." He said viciously. "Perfect Lily will fix everything, right? Well, it's already _been_ fixed. Narcissa fixed it. _Lucius _fixed it. I'm all better now," Sirius crooned, twirling around and sliding elegantly to the floor.

"No! You never talk to us anymore, Sirius. They don't care about you like we do." She insisted.

"Well, _that's _true at any rate." He agreed and leaned back on his hands, his robe sliding off one ivory shoulder.

"So you admit that they're just using you? That they don't care about you?" She asked hopefully.

"What?" He laughed. "No. I simply agreed that they don't care about me like _you_ do. They _do_ care, however, and it's more like a mutual...partnership." He drawled the last word, rolling it around in his mouth, and a mocking grin slid onto his face. "Anyway, I've found that green's a good color for me." His grin turned wicked. "You'd be surprised what you learn when there are mirrors above the bed." His friends' mouths dropped open, and he shook his head, savage humor in his cerulean eyes.

"W-What?" James choked out, right as Remus stood to leave.

"No, stay, by all means, Moony." Sirius smirked at him. "We haven't talked in a while. So, has anything interesting been..._up_, recently?" Remus blanched, and Peter spoke up suddenly.

"What's that on your shoulder, Siri?" He asked him, and Sirius grinned.

"You wanna see, Pete?" He asked, and Peter nodded enthusiastically. Sirius stood, and motioned Peter to stand behind him. He did, and Sirius let his black silk robes fall to the floor and pool at his feet. He was wearing soft, skintight, black leather pants tucked into knee-high, dragonhide boots, and had an emerald green silk shirt with flowing sleeves draped over his muscular chest. He unbuttoned the shirt, and when it slid from his shoulders, Peter gasped, his eyes bugging.

"Oh gods, Siri, its _beautiful_..." Peter breathed, and reached out as if he wanted to touch it. "Guys, you have to see this."

"What is it?" James asked, curious.

"An enchanted tattoo." Peter said, and their eyes grew wide.

"No way." James said, as Peter pushed Sirius around.

They, too, gasped, and it _was_ beautiful. It was the Black family crest. Twin swords with silver hilts, the black blades crossed, with an emerald and silver snake wrapped around each one, their heads reared back and ready to strike. It was huge, covering his whole back, and since it was enchanted the colors were incredibly vivid, and the snakes moved. They twisted and coiled around the dark blades, mouths closing, forked tongues slithering out, then opening again to strike and show massive, dripping fangs. Their eyes were blue, the exact same soul-stealing blue of Sirius's own eyes, and his friends couldn't seem to tear their gazes away. Sirius turned, slipping his shirt and robes back on, grinning.

"Cool, huh?" He asked, sinking to the floor once more.

"When did you get it?" Peter asked, clearly in awe while the others were just disturbed.

"Ummm...I dunno, Lucius did it like three or four days ago." Sirius said while they paled, then he turned his slightly-mad eyes to Remus. Remus met his gaze for a moment, and then stood abruptly once more.

"I...I can't do this...I'm sorry, Lily."

"What's wrong, Remi?" Sirius asked, his voice so very cold. "I just wanted to thank you." He said, and Lily, James and Peter stared at him in disbelief. He stood, cat-like grace and fluidity in every movement, and his silky, waist-length hair seemed to suck up the light. Remus' hands were shaking, but he managed to answer him.

"What could you possibly have to thank me for?" He choked out, and Sirius glided up to him, circling behind him slowly. He leaned in, and whispered in Remus' ear, though the others could still hear him.

"Because you were right. I don't love you. I've finally learned what it really means to be a Black, finally embraced my heritage and accepted my inheritance, and I have you to thank for it. You set me free, Remus." His breath tickled over the werewolf's neck, and then he was gone. It was as if he just stepped back and melted into the shadows. The portrait opened and closed, and Remus sank brokenly to the ground.

Please review!!!!


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